Sputter deposition generally involves directing a sputtering gas at a sputter target such that material from the sputter target is ejected onto a substrate as a thin film. One variation of sputter deposition involves use of a meta-mode sputtering system. In meta-mode sputter deposition, material is sputtered onto the substrate in one part of the sputter deposition chamber and then the sputtered-on material is exposed to a reactive gas in another part of the sputter deposition chamber. Meta-mode sputtering systems are typically used to from metal oxides or silicon oxide films on substrates.
One of the problems with meta-mode sputtering systems, as well as sputter deposition systems in general, is that internal chamber walls can become coated with sputtered material. This sputtered material can build up and flake off of the chamber walls as defect-related particles during a deposition process. These defect-related particles can then end up co-depositing with the sputtered-on material onto the substrate and reducing the quality of the resultant film. In a product manufacturing process, this can detrimentally affect quality control and lead to poor production throughput. In some cases it can be difficult to suppress the occurrence of particle defects simply by varying standard process parameters.